St. Paul daily globe., 1887-03-06
THE DOLLAR MEN.
They Would Have Worshipped at
Scalchi's Feet. But She would

ScaIchi's Feet, But She would
NOT.
Among those who got 81 seats for wheel
at the Patti concert were many persons who
move in good society, and who, on that
occasion, were the unfortunate victims of
circumstance. There were a couple of
school teachers who had relinguished all
hope of attending, because you know the
pedagogic salary is not colossal. and the
price of seats was very great. When
the admittance fee was placed
at 81 the ladies braced right
up and declared they should hear
Patti. They thrust themselves into the
breach and soon found themselves in the
rink: with the guilelesSneSs Of femininity
they went up OH the balcony, and as there
were seats which had not been taken, they
occupied two. The seats were not very good
and they cast about for better. True, they
had only paid for standing room, and they
were good church people, but they saw two
trst-clasS seats in the front row of the
balcony which were not marked, and so
with & dignity and ASSURANCE before which
many youthful statesman had quailed,
they sailed past the usher and took posses
sion of the 81 seats. That was the way the
women did. There was no noise, no con-
fusion, no crOwding. the ladies simply as
sumed a right and did it so confidently that
1he the thing succeeded.
-
The men had not the art these two ladies
assumed. But they explained the disturb
alice on the floor in a way highly fiattering
to the great singers. There We're two prom
inent young professional men in the fore
of one of the great crowds under the
balcony. And they explain the rush after
this fashion. Said one: You can have
iip FFteYg uf the enthusiasm which possessed
the dollar people. Talk about gaugng the
appreciation of the people by the price they
paid for seats. Why. you can't do it at all.
4 never saw anything like the enthusiasm of
the fellows back OF me. No sooner had
Arditi began the overture, than the appre-
citation OF the people began to manifest it.
self. They were fairly swayed by the
sweet strains, and strange to say the rhyth-
lnic movement produced progression. 1t
is true that Orpheus moved stones,
but it remained for Arditi to
move men, he drew them to him,
and by the time Scalchi began the people
had reached a point where they ceased to
be accountable. The first notes of the con-
4ralto queen OYercame them entirely, and
when the other artists had but raised slow
advance, Scalchi charmed them, and hence
they rushed to be near her. That the con-
tralto did not see it in the light of compli-
ment was unfortunate, for surely no singer
ever received more moving evidence of
appreciation. 1t was funny, very; and
had the philosopher been in the crush he
would have witnessed psychological phe
nomena that would have upset all recog-
Aized ideas of the effects of music on the
emotions"
You should have seen the way in which
the thing was worked. 4 hurley police
man guarded the rope. beyond which a
great empty space that was doing no one
any good. lOnged to be filed, and we
wanted to fill it. Little Jones stood by the
policeman, and whenever the crowd, in its
tremendous enthusiasm, surged etep
nearer. the policeman's billy was hourished
menacingly over the head of the innocent
Jones. Don't you Strike me- said that
unhappy man, don't you dare to strike
me. l can do nothing. | am helpless, |
shall not be abused, sir: don't you strike
me. sr' and then the innocent Jones
winked Solemnly at the enthusiastic kid near
him. and the apprecative music lovers be-
hind, fairly carried off their feet by their
jubilant emotions, swept forward to lay
aheir plaudits as near the feet of the great
nOnIralto as they could get; unfortunately a
dramatic scene was presented by the Schal-
ci. Just when 800 men We're about to
throw themselves PROSTATE at her feet and
lieclare her the peer of the diva. the fool
ishly unappreciative woman got man and
wouldn't play.
~
ITS lucky the feelings of those fellows
found expression before the great madame
appeared. What if she had got mad.
Then Instead OF only one person feeling too
badly 10 sing. notes of woe would have
walled forth from 5000 throatS; and there
would have been a volume of sound
100 great for the big rink to hold
AS it was the people who had paid 81 a
seat were compelled. between the numbers
10 find solace in talking about the 'rabble
who disgrace tie city" and "those unap-
preciatiye persons to whom even the grand
est music means nothing" Bless you, has
it not been clearly proven that the most
ardent admirers Of the muse were the dollar
men?
RNECH eSaTS AT tEsRE u,uNux